La Vuelta
by Ela Brook
Summary: Stella Browning, captain of the Spanish ship, La Vuelta, holds a secret that she's not willing to tell anyone-not even Jack Sparrow. Can he pry it out of her before Davy Jones finds out first?


**Sorry for the lame summary. I promise it will be more interesting as the story goes on. :)**

**~Ela Brook**

It was a beast the length of ten vessels. It had the power to suction the skin clean off your face. Its breath reeked of a thousand rotting corpses. And it was attacking my ship.

Tentacles at least two feet in diameter slithered their way up the sides of my _La Vuelta_. The crew and I watched them, wondering what would happen next. A few more seconds passed before the tentacles pulled away, then suddenly charged at the ship, blasting holes through the wooden siding with ease.

I ordered my crew to shoot at it with guns, slice at it with swords, and fire at it with cannons. Kraken flesh and blood littered the decks of the ship, but that hardly affected it. This thing could easily snap my vessel in half, but for some reason refused to. And why was it attacking us in the first place? Did a crew member have the Black Spot? Or was someone holding onto an article of clothing of a person with that wretched mark?

Out of nowhere, something hit me in the back of my head. Whether it was a tentacle or a rifle of a crew member running by, I didn't know. The last thing I remembered was lying on the main deck with my back to the sky, looking towards the side of the ship, and watching my first mate being torn in half by that beast.

"Captain!"

"Come quick!"

Jack Sparrow walked swiftly to the bow of the ship, where Pintel, Ragetti, and Marty stood peering over. He had abandoned his trying to figure out a map to come and see and was not in the best of moods to be taken away from his puzzle. "This had better be important, gentlemen. I am in no–"

His voice trailed off as he leaned over to see. In the water, floating limply on a chunk of plywood, was a woman. Her clothing depicted her as no ordinary person in trouble—she was obviously someone of higher status with her clean attire. From what he could see, she wore a long brown jacket with green and gold stripes. Her pants, which were tucked into black boots with a golden trim and laces, matched the coat. The hat on her head was a strange version of a tricorne, with the front of it stopping before it could reach a point and all the edges curling inward. That, too, was brown with gold trim. Her brunette hair only blended into her outfit, and Jack could see jewelry glinting around her neck and wrists. A pirate, perhaps? Or even a captain...

"Bring 'er aboard," said Jack. "Let me know if she wakes up." He strode back to his quarters.

"She alive?"

"Someone poke 'er."

"Leave her be, will ye?"

Upon opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was the sun blazing right in her eyes. She also noticed six blurry shapes above her, and when her vision cleared up she realized that they were men.

"Capt'n! She lives!" one yelled. He was a very short person.

She placed a hand on her throbbing head as she sat up, hearing scrambling feet all around her as she moved. She looked around, and saw that one of the men was holding her golden pearl-like necklace.

"Here ya are, miss…" He chuckled nervously and held it to her.

Glaring at him, she snatched it back and placed it around her neck. "Miss?" She stood, looking down at some and up at others. "I believe it is _captain_, thank you."

A short man with long, but balding, hair spoke up. "Sorry, ma'am. We speak 'captain' but to one man."

"An' who would that be?"

The sound of shuffling boots echoed throughout the ship. The small crowd around her cleared to reveal a man striding in her direction. He was of average height and dressed heavily in what looked like a large amount of clothing. On his head sat a tricorne hat with a red bandana underneath. His hair was long and in dreads; his skin dark and eyelids covered in kohl. _So this is their captain…_.

"I'd rather you not speak so unkindly to me crew," he said as he stopped in front of her. "They might be takin' offense, Miss, uh…"

"I am Captain Stella Browning," she stated, "and I'd like to know where my ship is, if you don't mind."

He gave her a confused look. "Love, you were floating on a piece of driftwood when we found you. There was no ship in sight."

Stella's heart sank and she gazed down to the floor. _That stupid squid must have sunken it, along with my entire crew…_. Never in her life had she felt so alone.

"Then…where am I now?"

He grinned. "Welcome aboard _the Black Pearl_."

Stella looked around to see not only the six men around her, but also an entire crew either lounging around or working on improving the ship, pulling on ropes or stacking barrels in an orderly manner. "The_ Black Pearl_," she said. "The mythical ship?"

"Ah, but if it were mythical, you wouldn't be on it right now, would you?"

She ignored his comment. "And you are the captain?"

He nodded. "Captain Jack Sparrow." He paused. "You're a captain as well, darling?"

Stella gave him a look. "Yes…of _La Vuelta_—_The Return_."

"Ah…and, where is this _La Vuelta_ of yours?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I just asked _you_ that. I don't know where it is." She sighed and said, "My ship and crew were attacked by the Kraken. I was knocked out. I don't remember any details."

A frown formed on Jack's face. "The Kraken…" he muttered, not intending for anyone to hear. "Sorry, love." He said louder and waited for a reply, but when she said nothing, he turned to face his crew and ordered, "You lot! I want to be at that island as soon as possible, which is usually accomplished if you're actually working." They stared at him. "Back to your stations, all of you!" He waved his hands in a shooing manner and the men scattered.

"'Scuse me, sir—captain," Stella spoke up. "What island are y'headin' to?"

Jack looked down at her—he wasn't much taller than her, only a few inches at the most—and then over her shoulder, staring out at the sea that expanded, it seemed, endlessly in front of the ship. He smiled and said, "Tortuga."


End file.
